How we tested
As one of Mashable’s senior shopping reporters and as Mashable’s go-to vacuum person, my home has had three to five vacuums in it at any given time since 2021. The variety has unintentionally created the perfect environment for not only testing these robot vacuums or cordless stick vacuums on their own, but also pitting them against each other. Over time, I learn which vacuum I would rather use for a certain mess or in a certain time frame, and why.
I’ve most recently tested the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine and Shark Cordless Detect Pro in my own 1,500 square foot apartment, as well as the Dyson Gen5Outsize in my parents’ 3,000 square foot home. (I always have my beloved Dyson V12 Detect Slim as backup.) The next models on the testing docket include the Samsung Jet 60 Pet and Tineco Pure One S11.
Both testing grounds are home to two cats (long haired and short haired) and have a combination of hardwood, laminate, and tile floors, plus a ton of low and high pile rugs.
Vacuum performance is evaluated through daily upkeep of the natural buildup that happens in any living space, plus various artificial spills to see how the vacuums handle larger, more spontaneous messes. (I love accidentally dumping a mound of chia seeds onto the kitchen floor and then framing it as a purposeful test for work.) We use the cordless vacuums in question as the go-to vacuums in the home during their testing time, relying on them to keep up with constant layers of cat hair (or long human hair), crumbs in the kitchen and living room, soil that my cats dug out of the potted plants, and dirt, rocks, sand, or grass by the front door.
During cleaning, I keep tabs on factors like how many passes were needed to noticeably suck up the mess, the size of any debris a vacuum skipped over, whether I can hear the suction mode boost on a dirtier spot or carpet, and whether or not the noise is bearable enough to clean the whole apartment without stopping — or if it’ll wake someone sleeping on the other side of the wall. Battery life is also considered, including the differences in how fast the runtime drains depending on the suction mode.
Past cleaning itself, there’s one more question that has to be considered: Is this vacuum painless enough (or dare I say, fun enough) to use that the average person will actually have the motivation to get it out and use it?